Raiders corner Hayden feels blessed year after near-fatal injury

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D.J. Hayden is one year removed from a near-fatal injury and says he feels blessed to be alive and with the Raiders.

As soon as D.J. Hayden woke up, he flashed back one year to the day he almost died in a practice collision.

Hayden got an encouraging text message from his mother Wednesday morning and he said he just felt blessed to be living after undergoing emergency heart surgery last Nov. 6.

After battling his way back from a near-death experience, Hayden’s growing pains as a rookie cornerback in the NFL for the Raiders appear like minor impediments rather than shaking his confidence after a rough outing last week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I’m just truly blessed,” he said. “Truly blessed to be living right now. Truly blessed to be in the NFL.”

Hayden collided with a teammate in practice at Houston one year ago, tearing a blood vessel off the back of his heart. He was rushed into immediate surgery for a tear of the inferior vena cava. The injury is 95 percent fatal in the field, according to doctors, and is most commonly associated with high-speed motor vehicle accidents.

Hayden didn’t know if he’d ever be able to walk again, much less play football. But he eventually recovered and worked his way back to get drafted 12th overall in April by the Raiders.

“Nothing in football can compare to what he had to go through and the type of mental toughness that it takes to battle through the injury that he battled through and to be able to come back like he’s been able to come back,” coach Dennis Allen said.